State of California
AIR RESOURCES BOARD
Resources Building
Auditorium
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA
June 16, 1971
9:30 a.m.
AGENDA
1. Opening Statement - A.J. Haggen-Smit, Ph.D., Chairman.
2. Minutes of May 19, 1971 Meeting.
3. Report of Technical Advisory Committee - R. Robert Brattain,
Chairman.
4. Public Hearing - Evaporative Emission Control for Heavy Duty
Vehicles.
5. Air Basin Boundaries in Siskiyou County - Emergency
Regulations.
6. Report on Mandatory Inspection Study.
7. State Ban on Open Burning at Refuse Dumps.
8. Other Business.
9. Remarks from the Audience.
ITEM
Staff Discussion of Heavy-Duty Vehicle Evaporative Emissions
Standard and Test Procedure.
The proposed standard and test procedure incorporate the
recommendations and decisions of the Air Resources Board's staff,
the Technical Advisory Committee and the Board over the past
several months. The standard is a departure from previous
practice in that it states an objective based on an engineering
evaluation rather than an explicit emissions test. It,
therefore, represents a discretionary requirement of the Board
beyond our emissions standard. This approach was chosen because
of the complexity of prescribing a single test procedure
applicable to all of the configurations and sizes in the heavy-duty
vehicle class. Also, experience with the control systems on
light-duty vehicles can be extended to the larger vehicles.
A major issue in the development of the standard has been whether
it should apply to all heavy-duty vehicles or only to those
vehicles which are an extension of the manufacturers light-duty
line. The development of control technology is more difficult
for the heavier specialty vehicles. After meeting with industry
representatives, the TAC recommended that all heavy-duty vehicles
be included. The procedure covers all vehicles but provides for
a possible one year extension of the effective date upon a
showing of technological necessity. An extension may be granted
only by Board action and is limited to those vehicles which are
not an extension of the light-duty line. This follows the policy
by the Board at its meeting on April 19, 1971.
The regulations become applicable to those heavy-duty vehicles
with engines manufactured after January 1, 1973. This
corresponds to the effective date of the exhaust standards for
the heavy-duty vehicles which were adopted last November.
ITEM
Staff Report on Petition for Air Basin Boundary Change in
Siskiyou County.
The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, in a resolution dated
March 10, 1971, requested that all of Siskiyou County be placed
in one air basin, the Northeast Plateau Air Basin. At the may
19, 1971 Board meeting, Supervisor Earl Ager of Siskiyou County
asked that the County's request be considered early enough to
enable the County to adopt a budget for the next fiscal year.
The staff finds no technical objections to the County's proposal
and therefore recommends the emergency adoption of Resolution 71-38 with
confirmation to be made in a public hearing at the July Board meeting.
ITEM
Staff Report on Mandatory Inspection Study.
Section 39067.2 of the Health and Safety Code (AB 78, 1970)
directed the Air Resources Board to undertake a study to
determine:
1. The reduction in automotive emissions that could be
achieved by practicable vehicle emission inspection
programs; and
2. the costs of carrying out such programs on a permanent
basis,
and to report its findings and recommendations to the legislature
no later than July 1, 1971. Sixty-five thousand dollars was
provided in AB 78 (1970) for conducting the study.
In response to the legislative directive, a request for proposals
on such a study was sent to prospective contractors early in
July, 1970. Because the law required that the study include a
determination of effects of practical inspection programs, an
additional part had to be included to test inspection methods
which may be potentially practical for a statewide program. The
fund provided by the legislature was not sufficient for this
additional part. Additional financial support, amounting to
approximately $336,000 was provided by the State Highway
Commission. A contract for a two-part study was let to Northrop
Corporation on November 30, 1970.
ITEM
Staff Report on Approval Policy for Granting Time Extensions to
Cities and Counties for Open Burning Dumps.
At its May 19, 1971 meeting, the Board adopted a policy for
allowing time extensions to cities and counties to continue to
use open fires for the purpose of disposal of solid waste.
The policy requires each city council or county board of
supervisors to apply before November 1, 1971 for permission to
continue to burn in the open on their solid waste dumps.
Information must also be provided on location of dumps,
population density, number of people served, amounts of waste
disposed handled, unavailability of other disposal methods and a
plan and timetable to phase out each open burning dump.
A policy for approval was also considered at that meeting, but it
was referred to the staff for further study. The Board wanted to
be sure that any approval policy adopted would not be in conflict
with policies of other State agencies having an interest in solid
waste disposal.
ITEM
Petition of the Environmental Defense Fund and Regulation of Lead
in Gasoline.
Attached is a letter dated May 11, 1971 from Mr. Wigert, the
attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). It quotes the
following sentence from the Attorney General's letter of March 8,
1971:
"The county air pollution control districts are clearly
authorized to adopt regulations governing the specifications
of fuel used within the districts."
Mr. Wigert then demands that the ARB set an exhaust emission
standard for lead. His theory seems to be that in doing so the
counties will be forced thereby to adopt regulations controlling
lead in gasoline.